In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten Top Ten" – the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres – after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Reds was acknowledged as the ninth best film in the epic genre.[2][3]

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The film covers the life of John Reed and Louise Bryant from their first meeting to Reed's final days in 1920 Russia. Interspersed throughout the narrative, several surviving witnesses from the time period give their recollections of Reed, Bryant, their colleagues and friends, and the era itself. A number of them have mixed views of Bryant and her relationship with Reed.

In 1915, married socialite Bryant encounters the radical journalist Reed for the first time at a lecture in Portland, Oregon, and she is intrigued with his idealism. Upon meeting him for an interview on international politics which lasts over the course of a night, she realizes that writing has been her only escape from her frustrated high society existence. Inspired to leave her husband, Bryant joins Reed in Greenwich Village, New York City, and becomes acquainted with the local community of activists and artists, including anarchist and author Emma Goldman and the playwright Eugene O'Neill. Later, they move to Provincetown, Massachusetts, to concentrate on their writing, becoming involved in the local theatre scene. Through her writing, Bryant becomes a feminist and radical in her own right. Reed becomes involved in labor strikes with the "Reds" of the Communist Labor Party of America. Obsessed with changing the world, he grows restless and heads for St. Louis to cover the 1916 Democratic Convention. During Reed's absence, Bryant falls into a complicated affair with O'Neill. Upon his return, Reed discovers the truth about the affair and realizes he still loves Bryant. The two marry secretly and make a home together in Croton-on-Hudson, north of New York City, but still have conflicting desires. When Reed admits to his own infidelities, Bryant takes ship to Europe to work as a war correspondent. After a flare-up of a kidney disorder, Reed is warned to avoid excessive travel or stress, but he decides to take the same path. Reunited as professionals, the two find their passion rekindled as they are swept up in the fall of Russia's Czarist regime and the events of the 1917 Revolution.

The second part of the film takes place shortly after the publication of Ten Days that Shook the World. Inspired by the idealism of the Revolution, Reed attempts to bring the spirit of Communism to the United States, because he is disillusioned with the policies imposed upon Communist Russia by Grigory Zinoviev and the Bolsheviks. While attempting to leave Europe, he is briefly imprisoned and interrogated in Finland. He returns to Russia and is reunited with Bryant at the railway station in Moscow. By this point, Reed is growing progressively weaker as a result of his kidney disorder. Bryant helps nurse the ailing Reed, who dies.

Warren Beatty came across the story of John Reed in the mid-1960s and executive producer and film editor Dede Allen remembers Beatty mentioning making a film about Reed's life as early as 1966. Originally titled Comrades, the first script was written by Beatty in 1969,[4] but the process stalled. In 1976, Beatty found a suitable collaborator in Trevor Griffiths who began work but was delayed when his wife died in a plane crash.[5] The preliminary draft of the script was finished in 1978, but Beatty still had problems with it. Beatty and Griffiths spent four and a half months on fixing it, though Beatty's friend Elaine May would also collaborate on polishing the script.

Beatty originally had no intention of acting in the film or even directing it, because he had learned on various projects such as Bonnie and Clyde and Heaven Can Wait that producing a film alone is a difficult task. He briefly considered John Lithgow for the part of John Reed because the two looked similar in appearance. Eventually, however, Beatty decided to act in the film and direct it himself. Jack Nicholson was cast as Eugene O'Neill over James Taylor and Sam Shepard.[5]

When principal photography began in August 1979 the original intention was for a 15-to-16-week filming shoot, but it ultimately took one whole year to just shoot the film. The process was slow because it was shot in five different countries and at various points the crew had to wait for snow to fall in Helsinki (and other parts of Finland), which stood in for the Soviet Union, and for rain to abstain in Spain. Beatty would also not stop the camera between takes and would have it continuously roll. He also insisted on a large number of takes. Paul Sorvino said he did as many as 70 takes for one scene and actress Maureen Stapleton had to do 80 takes of one particular scene which caused her to say to Beatty, "Are you out of your fucking mind?"[5]

Beatty and Keaton's romantic relationship also began to deteriorate during the filming. Peter Biskind wrote about the making of Reds, "Beatty's relationship with Keaton barely survived the shoot. It is always a dicey proposition when an actress works with a star or director – both, in this case – with whom she has an offscreen relationship. ... Keaton appeared in more scenes than any other actor, save Beatty, and many of them were difficult ones, where she had to assay a wide range of feelings, from romantic passion to anger, and deliver several lengthy, complex, emotional speeches." George Plimpton once observed, "Diane almost got broken. I thought [Beatty] was trying to break her into what Louise Bryant had been like with John Reed." Executive producer Simon Relph adds, "It must have been a strain on their relationship, because he was completely obsessive, relentless."[5]

The editing process began in spring of 1980 with as many as 65 people working on editing down and going over approximately two and a half million feet of film.[5] Post-production ended in November 1981 more than two years after the start of filming. Paramount stated that the final cost of the film was $33.5 million, which would be the rough equivalent of around $80 million today.[5]

"The most evocative aspect of the presentation is a documentary enhancement – interviews with a number of venerable 'witnesses,' whose recollections of the period help to set the scene, bridge transitions and preserve a touching human perspective," wrote The Washington Post.[6] "More than anything else in Reds, these interviews give the film its poignant point of view and separate it from all other romantic adventure films ever made," wrote New York Times film critic Vincent Canby.[7]

To gain perspective on the lives of Reed and Bryant, Beatty began filming the "witnesses" as early as 1971.[8] Some of them are very well known, others less so. As well as their being listed in the opening credits, American Film magazine identified the witnesses in its March 1982 issue.[9]

Released on December 4, 1981, Reds opened to critical acclaim upon its release. Despite its political subject matter and limited promotion by Warren Beatty, the film became the thirteenth highest grossing picture of 1981, grossing $50,000,000 in the United States.[1] Beatty later remarked that the film "made a little money" in box office returns.

The movie currently holds a high 94% "Fresh" rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.[10] The review stated that, "At a time when Ronald Reagan had just become the president of the United States, Beatty's sympathetic portrait of notorious American communist John Reed seemed even more daring. Yet, as it continues to age, the film only continues to grow in relevance, assuring its rightful place at the top of the Hollywood canon".[10] In an interview with IMDb regarding his recently released film Interstellar (2014), director Christopher Nolan stated that Reds strongly influenced some of its scenes.[11]

^United Press International, March 19, 1982. Attorney Ed Rubin, spokesman for Warren Beatty, briefly outlined the origins of Reds in a UPI story about a lawsuit brought against Beatty and Paramount by William Greene and Helen Smith, authors of a study of Louise Bryant. Green contended the film was based upon their work and they did not receive proper compensation. Rubin said Greene had initiated contact with Beatty in 1973, asking the actor to read his manuscript. Advised not to read it without making payment, Beatty paid Greene $250 in a written agreement. Beatty reportedly found the material without substantial value, and he vigorously denied the allegations made in the suit.